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Extreme Makeover...Mouse Edition
EXTREME MAKEOVER...MOUSE EDITION A GMD Fanfiction By The Mouse Avenger AUTHOR'S NOTES: For those of you who don't already know, my interest in the fanfiction & film versions of my "Great Mouse Detective" sequel (along with my follow-up TV series for the latter) has been newly-revitalized, & in addition to the several chapters of my updated GMD sequel-fic that I am in the process of writing (& uploading to DA), I've got a few ideas for new fics that tie in with GMD 2. This is one of them. After having engaged with a personal friend (& fellow GMD fan) in a series of delightful & entertaining conversations about my GMD sequel, I've wondered to myself, "Just what did Basil, Dr. Dawson, & Mrs. Judson have to go through to remodel their house? How did they manage to make living arrangements for Olivia & her family (along with Ratigan, Fidget, & the rest of the Baker Street Family)?" This fanfic sheds a little light on the matter for you, & I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Now, keep in mind that since I'm juggling college & R.L. with my never-ending list of personal projects (including a book of poetry about the Jonestown tragedy that I hope to have published)-& also in the process of moving everything on one of my laptops to a new computer-I won't be able to update as frequently as I normally do, but rest assured that I will post new chapters as soon as they're completed. In the meantime, when you're finished reading, feel free to leave a review. I'll take anything from simple comments to constructive criticism, as long as they're not flames or written in a mean, stern, or overly-harsh manner. (And any flames that are posted will be deleted-just so you know. I've had it up to here with certain people flaming my fanfics, & I thought I'd make it clear that such action will not be tolerated. If you have a complaint about any of my fanfics, please take the time to express it in a tactful & diplomatic manner. Thank you very much in advance.) And, now, for a brief copyright & disclaimer... All "Great Mouse Detective" characters, elements, & properties © Disney. All original characters, elements, & properties © The Mouse Avenger (that's me). Please be sure to ask for my permission before using them in your stories or RPGs. Thanks in advance. And now that my copyright & disclaimer is finished, let the fanfiction begin! Happy reading! Prologue: Operation Flavershams Wednesday, September 23, 1897 Baker Street was awfully quiet on this foggy autumn evening, & the only sound that could be heard in the house at Lower 221B was that of the grandfather clock chiming the hour in the corner of the antechamber that led from the front door to the living room. I could feel my tail swishing to & fro, as I paced the floor of the antechamber with quick, anxious steps, my arms & paws clasped behind my back. Occasionally, out of the corner of my eye, I could see Mrs. Judson-our landlady, maid, mousekeeper, & cook-looking up worriedly at the face of the grandfather clock, fidgeting & fussing as she nervously toyed with the hem of her long dress. No doubt, she, too, was wondering about the whereabouts of a certain mouse detective, who had not yet arrived home from the fursonal errands he was supposed to have run... "Oh, my goodness," I heard Mrs. Judson muttering anxiously, "it's already 10:00! Where on Earth could Basil be at this ungodly hour?" Any answer to that question was, unfortunately, beyond me. I could only continue to pace the floor, as I responded to Mrs. Judson's question with an inquiry of my own: "It shouldn't take all day for a mouse-let alone a mouse as quick as Basil-to do a few simple errands, should it, Mrs. Judson?" "I should say not, Dr. Dawson!" replied the mousekeeper as she turned away from the clock to face me, her expression & tone-of-voice now quite agitated (& understandably so). "And believe me, I should know how long it takes a mouse to 'do a few errands'. Even with all the errands I have to do to keep this house ship-shape for you two, it usually doesn't take me more than two or three hours, if not sooner!" At this point, I stopped pacing, & turned around to face Mrs. Judson with an uncertain gaze, not entirely sure what to do. "Um, perhaps, then," I finally said with some hesitation, "I would suggest that one of us should go look for him..." "I agree with you, Dr. Dawson!" Mrs. Judson answered resolutely, just as she began walking off downstairs to enter the living room. "I'll go put on my coat, &-" Suddenly, I stopped Mrs. Judson in her tracks with an additional utterance from my lips: "On second thought, Mrs. Judson, never mind. I think I hear Basil's footsteps now." "And it's about time, too!" I heard Mrs. Judson mutter to herself, as she scuttled back up the stairs to the antechamber, where she joined me at my side, & we prepared to greet our long-awaited friend. It wasn't very long until the front door opened with a loud creak, & none other than Basil Of Baker Street himself appeared in the threshold! "Oh, Mr. Basil," Mrs. Judson exclaimed happily as she & I rushed over to the detective, "glad to see you back home with us!" The mousekeeper & I proceeded to help remove Basil's deerstalker cap & inverness cape from his furson...but only after a few seconds, did we notice the tired & haggard expression that was plastered on his face. Basil looked like he had been through Hades, but for what reason, we had yet to know. The only thing Basil said to us in reply was, "Thank you so very dearly, Dawson...Mrs. Judson." With slow, solemn steps, Basil walked away from me & Mrs. Judson, then proceeded to make his way across the antechamber, before turning to trudge down the steps into the living room; not even bothering to change into his robe, he slumped down into his favorite red armchair, planting his feet on the floor (& ignoring the plush red stool in front of him). 1 From our position behind the banister of the antechamber, Mrs. Judson & I could see Basil casting a sad, half-lidded look to the floor, as he rested his head in the palms of his paws, supporting them with his elbows planted flat on his knees. Poor Basil, I couldn't help but think to myself in heartfelt concern. What on Earth could be troubling him so? Hoping to get more information from Basil, Mrs. Judson & I entered the living room to approach him, trying to smile & act as though we couldn't tell anything was out of the ordinary. "So," I asked Basil in a friendly manner, "how did your errands go today, Basil?" "Ohh, they weren't too shabby, I suppose," Basil replied (although he didn't really sound very convincing to me or Mrs. Judson). "And how was your day, may I ask?" Still smiling, I answered in the same cheerful tone as earlier, "Oh, well, I'd say my day was quite fine." Mrs. Judson nodded her head, muttering in agreement, & Basil merely gave his reply in a flat monotone: "That's good to know." Then came an awkward pause, & for the next few seconds, neither Basil, Mrs. Judson, nor I said anything. Finally, however, I decided to break the silence, & with great delicacy, I asked Basil, "You appear to be looking...rather down today, Basil. Anything wrong?" Basil let out a deep sigh, then shook his head as he responded, "Oh, it's all just related to fursonal trifles, Dawson. It's nothing to worry about, really." But Mrs. Judson & I, convinced that Basil wasn't telling us the whole truth, couldn't take that for an answer, & Mrs. Judson tried to coax Basil to tell us more than he was letting on. "Oh, no, Mr. Basil," she said with a bit of eagerness in her Scottish brogue, "we're interested in hearing what you have to say! Do tell us!" After another pause, Basil finally gave his answer (with some hesitancy): "Well, if you must know...it has to do with the Flavershams." "The Flavershams?" I blurted out, surprised to hear that name coming out of Basil's mouth again, after all the long weeks that had passed since that fateful night in June... 2 "Quite right, Dawson," Basil replied, reaching into his trenchcoat pocket to pull out a Polaroid photograph, which he brought up for himself to see. Then, Basil began to stare at the picture with a wistful expression on his face, & Mrs. Judson & I leaned in to take a closer look at it. Sure enough, there was little Olivia Flaversham & her father, along with her adoptive big sister & several other rodents-no doubt, their relatives in Mouse Scotland that they had told us about in the days before their departure from Mouse London. 3 The picture, it seemed, had been taken at a carnival, & judging by the smiles on everyone's faces, it certainly looked like the Flaversham family was having a good time. (And although Olivia promised that she would never forget me & Basil, I still couldn't help but wonder if she & Hiram thought about us as they spent their carefree days on their family's farm up in the Highlands...) After looking back up at Basil, I saw that his face (still gazing down at the picture in his paw) was now sporting a fond smile. "Has it been that long, Dawson? Since we first met the Flavershams." "Er, not that long, actually," I answered. "I'd say a little over two months." "I believe you're right, Dawson," Basil said, nodding his head as the sad frown gradually returned to his face. "That would be an accurate estimate..." Another silence passed between us, lasting for a few seconds, until I asked Basil another question: "But what is it about the Flavershams that's troubling you so much?" "Well, perhaps, it's best if I start at the beginning," Basil replied, & after taking a moment to clear his throat, he began relating his tale to us: "You see, Dawson, after going out to do my errands & stopping for a late lunch on the way home, I happened to pass by the Flavershams' toy shop while making my way down Walnut Avenue. 4 The place appeared to be in pretty bad shape. I thought they had not yet come back from Scotland, but then, I heard a familiar voice squeaking my name. I turned around, & I saw little Olivia standing in the window, looking at me..." A fretful sigh passed from Basil's lips, & he continued, becoming increasingly upset as he spoke: "You should have seen her, Dawson. I didn't look at Olivia for very long, but I noticed that she was pale & sickly-looking. Her clothes were torn & dirty. Her eyes were sunken & circled from lack of sleep...I could tell that she & her family had not only returned to Mouse London & reopened the toy shop, but were also under extreme duress, because..."-a pause for breath-"...from what my deduction powers told me, when I saw the condition of Olivia & the toy shop in general, it appears as though the Flavershams are going bankrupt. No one's coming to buy their toys anymore-I presume due to the recent rise in popularity of toys from the new super-companies. 5 And it's not just the Flavershams who are suffering, but other small-business toymakers, as well." I could hardly believe my ears! During all the time that had passed up until today, I had no idea that all of this was happening to our comrades! "The Flavershams...are going bankrupt?" I ejaculated, unable to hide my shock at hearing the news. "Oh, the poor dears!" Mrs. Judson said sorrowfully, overcome by a wave of compassion for the suffering toymaker & his daughters. "That's terrible!" "Yes, it is indeed terrible, Mrs. Judson...far too terrible for me to bear," Basil remarked, now looking even more melancholy than he had earlier. "That's why I started to run away when I heard Olivia & Arden calling my name...& why I didn't come back until much later than I originally intended." After another pause for breath, Basil lamented, "I want so much to help the Flavershams. But I have no children of my own that could serve as customers, & I don't really know anyone to whom I could recommend the Flavershams' services...yet, in their current crisis, customers are precisely the thing the Flavershams need most!" Basil let out another sigh, then shook his head worriedly as he asked, "What am I to do? How can I possibly assist the Flavershams in their dilemma?" "Basil, don't worry!" I said, trying to encourage my comrade. "You're a smart mouse! I'm sure you can figure it out!" But Basil couldn't contain his emotions any longer; he began to contemplate (aloud) over how his experiences with Olivia Flaversham changed him, altering his fursonality for the better, by helping him become a more sensitive & caring rodent (among other things). He told me & Mrs. Judson all about how much he missed Olivia's company-indeed, the changes in his attitude towards her had become all-too-apparent to us by now-& how lonely & miserable he felt without her. He went on to say that he couldn't bear to see his friend suffering, & honestly felt that he couldn't turn away from Olivia & her father & sister, but despite my attempts to comfort & console Basil, the detective was in despair over how he should handle the situation. "What's the right thing I can do?" he finally asked. "Should I let her stay with me, or should I ignore the child, & let her die in poverty?" 6 "Well, I certainly wouldn't recommend the latter choice," I replied. "Perhaps, under the circumstances, it would be a good idea for us to allow the Flavershams to take lodgings with us at our home." Almost immediately, the lachrymose frown left Basil's face, & a bright, broad smile formed in its place. "Then that's precisely what we shall do, Dawson!" Basil exclaimed, his tone-of-voice now filled with the same newfound energy & optimism that radiated from his features. After getting up out of his chair, Basil began walking away from me & Mrs. Judson, putting on his invertness cape & deerstalker cap as he said, "The Flavershams are dear friends to us. If they're going to make it through their difficult situation, they're going to need a lot of help. And I know just how to give it to them!" Once he had adjusted his cap (now resting upon his head), Basil turned to make his way towards the staircase leading up to the second floor of our house, beckoning for me & Mrs. Judson to follow him into his fursonal study room. We both promptly scurried after Basil, & as soon as we had all reached our destination, Basil went back to shut the door, before making his way to the large writing desk that stood against the south wall of the room. Upon taking his seat in the lavender easy-chair that rested in front of the desk, Basil reached a paw towards one of the little bureaus of drawers & cubby-holes that lay upon the table surface. After rooting around in one particular drawer, he pulled out a piece of blank paper, then laid it down in front of him, before grabbing a fountain pen from a small jar, & beginning to write upon the aforementioned sheet of paper. As Mrs. Judson & I watched from our standing positions behind Basil, our friend busily engaged in writing what turned out to be a letter; when he was done with this task, he carefully folded up said letter, before placing it in an envelope, & licking the seal on the back to close it. Then, after writing the Flavershams' address on the front of the envelope, Basil placed a postage stamp in the upper-right-hand corner of it, before smiling in satisfaction as he placed the finished letter on his desk. "There!" Basil said pleasantly. "Phase One of 'Operation: Flavershams' is officially complete!" Then, the detective turned to face me & Mrs. Judson with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes & an eager smile, as he added, "Now, on to Phase Two!" "Which would be...?" I asked quizzically. "The answer to that is quite elementary, my dear Dawson," Basil replied. "Take a few extra weeks to prepare the house for their arrival." "Oh, that shouldn't be too difficult," Mrs. Judson remarked optimistically. "Aside from the study room, your room, my room, & Basil's room, all the other rooms on the second & third floors are empty, so we can convert them into living spaces for the Flavershams, & any relatives they might want to bring along with them..." 7 "But in addition to that," I added, "I think we should also make the living room look, umm...a little bit nicer, you know? Now that you've moved all your scientific equipment & other things into the study room, the sitting area's awfully bare, & I feel that it could use a lot more furniture & decorations...maybe even one of those nice televisions they've been making lately..." 8 "And while you're on the subject of remodeling the first floor, Dr. Dawson," said Mrs. Judson, "I think we also need to redo the wallpaper. It's gotten rather pale & dull over the years...Oh, & we ought to make a doorway leading into the dining room from the living room, so others won't have to go through the kitchen to get to it. And we need to make a more accessible stairway to the second floor-it's such a pain in the tail to have to squeeze through that narrow door in the pipe, let alone to have to climb all those stairs, & open that second door at the top that goes into the second-floor hallway...Ah, & I just got another idea, too-we should buy a van!" 9 "Don't worry, Mrs. Judson," Basil told the mousekeeper, trying to hold back a chuckle as he playfully waved his paw at her. "Everything will be taken care of in due course. I think that October 24..."-he picked up his pen, & marked the appropriate date on his calender that hung upon the wall above his desk-"...will be a suitable deadline for us to have everything ready for the Flavershams & their relatives." "Good idea, Basil! We can start after breakfast tomorrow," I suggested. "I'll call the carpenters, the carpet-layers, the painters, the plumbers, the woodworkers, the wallpaper mice, & the interior decorators!" "And I'll pay a visit to Abigail's Antiques Store, Ferb's Furniture Emporium, & Joe Tailor's Business on Walnut Avenue," said Mrs. Judson. "If I have enough time, I'll also stop at Veronica's Electronica Store on the way home, & I'll continue to visit various stores throughout the next month. I want to make sure that we're not missing anything during our period of preparation!" "It's settled, then!" Basil declared, as he rose out of his seat, & went over to open the door, so he could make his exit. "We'll get up for breakfast & morning routines at 7:00 AM, & Phase Two of 'Operation: Flavershams' will begin an hour later, at 8:00 sharp!" "All right, Basil!" I said, as Mrs. Judson & I followed our friend out of the study room. "It's a deal!" After bidding each other "goodnight", Basil, Mrs. Judson, & I retreated into our respective bedrooms to retire for the evening. After changing into my nightclothes, & setting my alarm clock for 7:00 AM, I crawled into my humble bed, & curled up under the covers, resting my head on the soft pillow, as thoughts of the days ahead flooded my mind. It was going to be a busy 4 weeks, that was for certain...but I had no idea just how full of surprises our "extreme makeover" would turn out to be! 1 A bit of an homage to a certain scene in the original movie... ;-) 2 My personal choice for the dates of the original movie are June 19, 20, & 21 of 1897 (along with the week following the 21nd), which are very close to the dates Irene Relda suggested in the first version of her "Dating The Disney Film" essay. As for the date seen on the newspaper at the end of the film...I'd call that a flub on the part of the animators. XD (Or a vision of an alternate universe...Ehh, whatever.) 3 The Flaversham relatives (aside from Aunt Miriam, Aunt Charlotte, Uncle Billy, Uncle Nathaniel, Cousin Timmy, Cousin Tina, & Cousin Samantha) make appearances in the film & fanfiction versions of my sequel, although Olivia's other cousins, aunt Leesha, & uncle Gordon are Grandpa Malcolm & Grandma Kayley's (unrelated) neighbors in the latter. 4 For those who don't already know, Walnut Avenue is a mouse street that occupies the human street of Michael Road, located in the West End of (Mouse) London (where Baker Street is). 5 Since this story ties in with the fanfiction version of my sequel, the new technology also plays a role in the Flavershams' crisis; this will be elaborated on further in the sequel-fic. 6 This is the part in the sequel where Basil & Dr. Dawson sing "How Can I Turn Away?". 7 Finally, I have an answer as to why Ratigan & Fidget have their own room at Basil's house! ^_^ 8 Again, this story ties in with the fanfiction version of my GMD sequel, hence the presence of the new technology (including televisions). 9 Those were the best explanations I could come up with for how one got to the dining room or the second floor in Basil's old house, but if anyone can come up with better explanations, feel free to enlighten me. Category:Stories Category:Chapters